The Constitutional Court of North Macedonia has decided to reject all three initiatives that challenged the provisions of the Law on Minor Offenses, namely the application of the “Safe City” system. The legal provisions were challenged in several aspects, such as the official use of languages in minor offense proceedings, the principle of equality and territorial application. The decision in question was preceded by a wide debate with divided opinions, especially from Albanian judges regarding the application of the Albanian language in this case.
The initiatives to the Constitutional Court were submitted by Zijadin Sela, Ilire Dauti, Elmi Aziri, Ylli Paçuku and Arben Taravari. The application of the “Safe City” camera system has been implemented since February in the cities of Skopje, Tetovo and Kumanovo.
"With the law that the legislature adopts, for every right that is confirmed or guaranteed by the Constitution, the legislator cannot narrow that right, limit it, and even less abolish it. There is no such right. In the specific case, the issue of using the Albanian language as an official language, even in the procedures for these offenses. The right is not being implemented and this means that the Albanian language is not being used," said constitutional judge Osman Kadriu.
The President of the Constitutional Court of North Macedonia, Darko Kostadinovski, said that he does not agree that "this is about curtailing the rights to use languages."
He said that SMS messages for fines should be sent in Macedonian and can also be sent in English, but not in Albanian.
There were numerous reactions to these statements.
The Democratic Union for Integration has demanded the immediate dismissal of Kostadinovski.
"The Democratic Union for Integration reacts strongly to the scandalous and unacceptable statements of the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of North Macedonia, Darko Kostadinovski. With his positions yesterday and with a series of decisions over the last two years, he has proven that this institution has become a political tool to undermine every achievement stemming from the Ohrid Agreement. His statements on the issue of the "Safe City" project, according to which SMS messages should be sent only in Macedonian, while they can also be sent in English, but not in Albanian, constitute an open act of discrimination and a serious violation of the spirit and the very Constitution of the state," the DUI's response states.
According to the DUI, with this action, the President of the Constitutional Court not only exceeds his powers, but also brutally interferes with the legal order and interethnic relations in the country.
"Once again, it was proven that the Albanian and Turkish judges in this court were outvoted, bringing back practices that remind public opinion of the darkest times of the nineties. DUI demands the immediate resignation of Darko Kostadinovski and every judge who shares the same discriminatory positions for these two years with a majority. Otherwise, from today onwards he will bear full responsibility for any consequences that may be produced in terms of interethnic relations. We will act and demand responsibility for these positions, which are not accidental or even of today, but have been systematically built over the last two years," the DUI's response states.
Minister of Economy, Besar Durmishi, has reacted to the statement of the President of the Constitutional Court Kostadinovski regarding the use of only Macedonian in the “Safe City” system. In the news interview on Alsat, Durmishi said the President of the Constitutional Court should protect the Constitution and not deal with daily politics.
"In addition to the Macedonian language, according to the constitution, the official language is also the language spoken by at least 20% of citizens, that is, the Albanian language. Therefore, neither the president of the constitutional court nor anyone else can deny this right, nor interpret the constitution as he wishes. We will fight our battle within the Government, within the Ministry of Interior," Durmishi said in an interview with Alsat.
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